Best Way to Blow $50,000
The expression “burning a hole in your pocket” has no relation to what I’m going to write about here. It has everything, though, to do with families who do not understand the decisions that they’re making the and financial consequences associated. Let me explain.
You see, quality residential treatment at minimum will cost $50,000. That’s a decent chunk of change. A lot of families will lean heavily on insurance to cover that bill, but realistically for an ethical program with measured successful outcomes (i.e. the average length of graduates who remain sober for 1 year post-discharge) you will be paying out of pocket. So, why is it then, after shelling out this massive amount of money for treatment are parents suddenly assertive in bringing their child home?
Most likely the clinical recommendations will be the exact opposite, to enroll in a step-down program outside of the home. Or to enroll in a therapeutic boarding school for ongoing clinical care. Instead, parents are shell-shocked by the amount they spent and now would rather cut financial corners, go against clinical recommendations, and believe their child is fixed and the treatment industry is one giant conspiracy theory trying to rip parents off. They may believe that until the honeymoon of their child’s progress wears off within a matter of days, if not hours, when they get home and they realize that they just completely unraveled all the clinical work done over the last few months. This to me is the exact image of burning a $50,000 pile of dollar bills.
Families must understand that mental health professionals will ere on the side of conservative recommendations for continued treatment. Is a Young Adult Transitional Program necessary? Maybe not, but the kid’s therapist understands that they need something. But instead of working with a Therapeutic Consultant to find something in the middle that matches the family’s budget and match’s the clinical recommendations, they are just bringing their kids straight home without support. Nothing could be more frustrating. All the work they just did in their residential level of care was a giant waste of money. If you want your kid to get better but won’t listen to the clinical recommendations, why not just spend the $50,000 on a down payment for a house, a boat, several years of international vacations, or whatever the heck you want to spend that amount of money on.
I empathize as a parent when you have seen the progress in treatment and do not understand the depth of the continued work that is necessary. I empathize with parents as they find themselves feeling guilt for their child’s situation and wanting to be close to them, even though they have not been able to do significant family therapy. The reality is, you’re spending a lot of money on treatment and it’s important to ensure that the investment you made was money well spent. The only way to ensure that is to not sabotage all the work that was done by bringing your child home from treatment against clinical recommendations.
For questions or comments contact Joanna.
